The Women’s Fund of Rhode Island is honoring RI Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport, with the organization’s Susan L. Farmer Award.
The award will honor Paiva Weed for her leadership role as the first female Senate president and for her support for the state’s Temporary Caregivers Insurance program, which was a top priority of the Women’s Fund of RI.
Paiva Weed became the first women to hold the post of Senate president in 2009. She is a lawyer and Providence College graduate.
The award is named for the late Farmer, a Republican from Providence’s East Side, who in 1983 made history by becoming the first female statewide officeholder when she was elected secretary of state. Farmer had a long career in public service that included being an advocate for public television, women’s rights and service as a member of the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Her husband, Malcolm Farmer III, is a Providence layer who also was elected as a Providence city council member.
The award ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, May 14 at Lincoln School in Providence.